RAPAPORT... Retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry in China increasedin the first two months of 2018, the nation'sdata department said. Total revenue for the category rose 3% year on yearto $80.4 billion (CNY 509 billion) in January and February, the National Bureau of Statistics of Chinasaid in a statement Monday. Retail sales of all consumer goods increased 10%,while online sales climbed 37%....Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute (IGI) will open anew screening facility for detecting laboratory-grown stones at the SantacruzElectronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) in Mumbai, the grading organization said Tuesday. The center - which IGI claims is the first of itstype in SEEPZ - will enable companies in the jewelry-manufacturing hub toassure customers a stone is natural...Read More
RAPAPORT... Retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry in China increasedin the first two months of 2018, the nation'sdata department said. Total revenue for the category rose 3% year on yearto $80.4 billion (CNY 509 billion) in January and February, the National Bureau of Statistics of Chinasaid in a statement Monday. Retail sales of all consumer goods increased 10%,while online sales climbed 37%....Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports increased in February, driven by thestrongest monthly growth in shipments to Hong Kong and the US in six years, theFederation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Tuesday. Worldwide shipments of Swiss timepieces climbed 13% year onyear to $1.78 billion (CHF 1.69 billion) last month. Exports to Hong Kongjumped 36% to $268.1 million (CHF 255.2 million), while tho...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province's March tender achieved the miner's highestaverage selling price to date, driven by a bigger-than-average selection of largeand high-value diamonds, the company said. The miner sold 177,000 carats of rough from its Gahcho Ku?(C)mine at an average price of $142 per carat, for a total of $25.1 million, itreported in a statement last week. Production from the end of last...Read More
RAPAPORT... MID House of Diamonds was the premier Israelipolished-diamond exporter for the third consecutive year, according to a list thenation's Ministry of Economy and Industry published recently.The company, whose exports dropped 5% to $175 million in2017, was one of four in the top 10 that saw a decline. Overall, polishedexports for the country fell 4% to $4.48 billion, government data showed...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds has raised about £500 000, before expenses, through the issue of 33.33-million shares of 1p each. Each new share issued will be accompanied by a warrant to subscribe for a further new share at a price of 3p.AdvertisementBlueRock will use the larger part of the proceeds to develop and expand its mining activities, which...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province's March tender achieved the miner's highestaverage selling price to date, driven by a bigger-than-usual selection of largeand high-value diamonds, the company said. The miner sold 177,000 carats of rough from its Gahcho Ku?(C)mine at an average price of $142 per carat, for a total of $25.1 million, itreported in a statement last week. Production from the end of last y...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports increased in February, driven by thestrongest monthly growth in shipments to Hong Kong and the US in six years. Worldwide shipments of Swiss timepieces climbed 13% year onyear to $1.78 billion (CHF 1.69 billion) last month, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Tuesday. Exports to Hong Kongjumped 36% to $268.1 million (CHF 255.2 million), while th...Read More
By Paul ZimniskyThe discount of gem-quality lab-created diamonds, manufactured for use in jewelry, relative to natural diamonds has doubled from 11-20% a year ago to 28-40% today, according to a survey of prices.For example, a white, 1-carat round diamond that is VS (very-slightly included) in clarity, F-H (near-colorless to colorless) in color, VG-ideal cut, with no-to-low florescence was selling...Read More
(Bloomberg) - Moti Group is preparing to double its investments in Zimbabwe to $500 million after the removal of Robert Mugabe as president in November saw the government adopt a more open approach to foreign companies.Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, who replaced Mugabe after the military briefly took control, has declared that "Zimbabwe is open for business" and has said he will ease the country's local...Read More
Zimbabwe's new government has changed its empowerment ownership laws for the diamond and platinum sectors, in an effort to re-engage international lenders, curb spending and attract investors to revive the country's battered economy.The new rules, Reuters reports, limit majority ownership by state entities to only diamond and platinum operations and not the entire mining sector as in previous...Read More
RAPAPORT...Phillips is set to open a showroom in Hong Kong, reinforcingits commitment to the Asian market. The new space, the auction house's first gallery in Asia,will host regular displays, auction previews, private sales and otherevents, to be led by "Hong Kong. Spotlight. Now.," an exhibition featuring various product types. The show is scheduled to launch on March 26, to coincidewi...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - TSX-listed Mountain Province Diamonds has signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with De Beers Canada, its partner in the Gahcho Kué mine, to potentially incorporate properties owned by Kennady Diamonds into the Gahcho Kué joint venture (JV).Mountain Province is acquiring Kennady, which owns the Kennady North diamond project adjacent t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A new direct flight between Israel and India will give a boost to the first-ever edition of the Bharat Diamond Week at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai, India. The BDB is expecting thousands of visitors from India and abroad to take part in the April 23-25 international diamond week. Some 150 Indian companies will be exhibiting polished diamonds to buyers from across the w...Read More
RAPAPORT...Attempts to upgrade the size and color ofgemstones using a layer of synthetic material have been around for decades, butsigns indicate the techniques are changing.The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) recently received two loose, oval-shaped,mixed-cut, red stones at its New York laboratory. On further inspection, theyturned out to be natural sapphires with a synthetic ruby "overgro...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Registration has opened for a three-day Analytical Methods in Gemology course to be held by AIGS (Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences) in Bangkok from April 25-27. The course will cover FTIR (Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy), ED-XRF (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry) and UV-Vis-NIR (Ultra Violet-Visible-Near Infrared Spectroscopy), both theory...Read More
RAPAPORT...The Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) has signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) with the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) in an ongoing effort to facilitatebusiness opportunities. The SDE delegation's visit to the New York-based DDC is the Chinese bourse's first in more than 10 years, and will be the start of a series ofcollaborations between the groups. "As a member of a bourse or an excha...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) reported worldwide net sales increased 4% to $4.2 billion in its financial year ended January 31, 2018. The results reflected sales growth in most regions and across most jewelry categories; comparable store sales were equal to the prior year and were consistent with guidance previously issued. Net earnings of $370 million were 17% below...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. said its second diamond sale of 2018 of approximately 177,000 carats raised $25.1 million, with a price per carat of $142 which is the highest achieved by Mountain Province in any tender sale to date. The price per carat of $142 "reflects in part the deferral into this sale of half of the fancies and specials from the last production split of...Read More